Remote Work: Is It Here To Stay?

The modern-day workforce has undergone a drastic transformation in recent years. Since the dreaded 2020 pandemic, most people around the world have moved to work in a remote environment. Or, in other words, they work from home, without having to go into the office.

Many roles, from digital marketing to management can easily be done in a remote setting. The possibilities are truly endless. 

There has been much debate, amongst employers, business owners, and employees themselves, about whether this transformation has been positive. Many people prefer working from home as it makes life more convenient, while many others feel more productive on-site.

One thing, however, cannot be denied – the rise of remote work has been a dominating factor in the evolution of the modern workforce. You’d find it quite difficult to discover a company that in the present day doesn’t incorporate some form of remote work.

But why and how has remote work persisted, even after the need to social distance has disappeared?

Why Has Remote Work Persisted?

There have been a few claims from business commentators that remote work will die out at some point. The main reason remote working became so popular was out of necessity – to prevent the spread of a virus.

However, these claims seem to be unfounded and incorrect, as 3 years after the pandemic, remote work is still going strong. There are many different reasons and factors for the persistence of remote work.

Firstly, it is clear that the majority of employees around the world prefer the benefits that come from working remotely. Things like not having to sit in traffic on the way to the office every morning have proven to be a huge money and time saver for many workers worldwide.

Employees have also enjoyed a greater sense of freedom since they are allowed more flexible schedules while working from home. Not having to commute every day provides each employee with far more time to focus on more personal endeavours.

But, besides the benefits to the employees themselves, there have been many benefits that businesses and company owners have experienced, from allowing their workforce to complete their tasks from a home setting.

Possibly the main factor that has pushed businesses to embrace the remote work environment is the obvious reduction in office-related expenses. When employees were coming into work each and every day, maintenance and upkeep of the work premises were far more costly.

Businesses are always looking to reduce costs and increase profits. So, the reduction in overhead expenses resulting from remote work is an important factor to consider. Furthermore, many employees feel more productive while working from home.

When employees are more productive, they work more efficiently, and the business becomes more profitable. So, overall, a remote work setting benefits companies in exactly the way they’d like – more profits and fewer expenses.

But can this remote work environment continue forever? What does the future workplace look like?

Remote Work in the Future – Will it Survive

Now, many workers from around the world will be hoping that they can continue working in a remote environment forever. Being able to work from home comes with many employee benefits, like more flexible schedules and less money spent on commuting. It also gives employees the freedom to relax on their lunch breaks, to enjoy playing at Black Lotus and other sites when not on the clock, and to take care of chores easily.

But this doesn’t mean that remote work will be here to stay. One thing that needs to come into consideration is that many businesses from around the world had office buildings purchased before the pandemic hit.

These businesses did not expect a remote work environment to become so popular, so quickly. They probably still want to get the most out of the office premises that they bought in the first place. For this reason, many companies are pushing for a hybrid work model.

Hybrid working is one of the latest developments in the ever-evolving workplace models. Hybrid models are exactly what they sound like – they combine the best of both when it comes to remote and on-site working environments.

Many major corporations from around the world feel as though having certain days allocated to remote work, and having certain days allocated to coming into the office is the best way to maximise employee productivity.

This is mainly because there is an almost perfect 50/50 split when it comes to productivity when working remotely versus working on-site. Around 47% of employees feel as though they are more productive while working from home, while 53% feel more productive in the office.

This perfectly justifies the need for companies to implement hybrid working models. By doing this they can bring the most out of their entire workforce, instead of maximising only half of their employees’ productivity.

Evolving Technology Supports Remote Work

There is one major factor that will continue pushing more employees to feel more comfortable working from home. That factor is the technological advances in home-office appliances that are making remote work as easy as can be.

There are plenty of new devices, mobile tablets, floating desks, wireless headsets, and more being developed daily to help support remote workers. Working from home with these new technologies may now feel even easier than working at the office.

This is not even mentioning all the software being released and purchased by major corporations to ensure that employees feel comfortable while working from home. Software that enhances communication and employee monitoring has become massively popular over the last few years.

There has also been major growth in the cloud computing industry that has allowed companies to store employee data and create new means of communication between their workers.

All these technological advances make it difficult for employers to call their employees back into the office. Many business owners may even be considering selling their office blocks to prioritise a largely remote work environment.

Final Thoughts

Remote work, for the most part, seems like it is here to stay. Many business commentators doubt the long-term efficacy of sustaining a remote work environment. But for now the new models of work seem to be proving quite effective.

The evolving technologies that we come across each and every day also support workers who continue to operate in a remote working environment.